Killer Bee Hives are naturally occurring structures found only in Grasslands biomes (usually next to Beehives) holding up to 6 Killer Bees. They appear in Sandbox Mode and more frequently in Adventure mode. Like normal Beehives, Killer Bee Hives drop 1 Honeycomb and 3 Honey. They also do not respawn.

Spawning Mechanics

A Beehive will (re)spawn a new Bee every game hour (30 seconds) up to the maximum population of 6 Bees per hive. Bees will leave their hive during the daytime, one at a time every 50 seconds. They return to their hive at dusk. During Winter, Bees do not leave their hive.

A Killer Bee Hive will (re)spawn a new Bee every 20 seconds up to the maximum population of 6 per hive. Killer Bees normally stay inside their hive all day. If the player wanders too close to their home they will immediately swarm out and attack even at Night and during Winter. Other creatures do not trigger this behavior.

If a Bee or a Killer Bee is attacked or captured with a Bug Net, all members of the hive will emerge as Killer Bees to engage the offender. Additionally, Bees from the same hive, that are less than a screen away, and any "homeless" bees (killer or otherwise) will also join the fight. Up to 10 Bees and Killer Bees will engage the offender, however additional offences, such as attacking one of the defenders is considered a new offence and additional Bees may join the fight.

If a hive is attacked, all Bees inside the hive will emerge as Killer Bees to attack the offender. Bees that were already outside (before the hive was attacked) will ignore the threat to the hive itself, but not the threat to the Killer Bees defending the hive; They will join the fight if one of the defenders is attacked.

If Beehive catches on Fire, all members will swarm out as Bees for Beehives and Killer Bees for Killer Bee Hives, and they will stay neutral to the offender, as Fire is not considered a direct damage, including the cases where it is caused by a direct hit from an incendiary weapon, such as a Fire Dart. Once on fire, the hive will burn up, dropping 4 Ashes.

Tips

Beehive

Equipping a Beekeeper Hat is a good way of avoiding major damage. If combined with a Log Suit, the damage from Bee stings is nearly negated and gathering is much easier.

It is possible to outrun Bees as they fly slowly. Once attacking a Hive, a character can turn and run from the bees, then turn back and attack again before they catch up.

Due to the spawn timers on Beehives, the best time to attack a Beehive is around 8.3 game hours (250 seconds) after the start of the day where the last Bee leaves the hive.

Wendy can use Abigail to harvest or destroy hives. Abigail, with her AoE damage, can easily kill all members of a hive. Abigail will help attack and destroy the beehive once Wendy targets it. It will anger the bees, but they will attack Abigail instead.

Another, more advanced method, involves the use of an Ice Staff or Ice, and a Fire Staff, Torch, or Fire Dart. The Beehive can be lit on fire using one of the fire-inducing items, immediately causing all Bees inside to flee, but still have them remain neutral to the player. Then the Beehive can be saved from burning up by extinguishing it with Ice or the Ice Staff, leaving an empty, defenseless Beehive that can easily be destroyed. This method also allows easily capturing any of the Bees that evacuated the hive.

Killer Bee Hive

It is advised that players should stay away from Killer Bee Hives, because they are often found grouped with other hives, making it hard to escape without attracting more Killer Bees.

Destroying a Killer Bee Hive requires good preparation. The player should have armor such as a Beekeeper Hat and Log Suit for minimizing injury. To destroy each hive quickly, one should use a Tentacle Spike or Dark Sword, though the run-of-the-mill Spear works as well.

Ranged weapons such as a Blow Dart will help the player keep a safe distance while killing the Bees.

A strategy is to lure away the Killer Bees and turn back in a circle. When they stop pursuing, they wait for a short while before returning to the hive, giving the player time to destroy it before the Bees catch up. After the hive is destroyed, the Bees don't act as a swarm anymore and can be killed one by one.

A patient player may employ a Lureplant to eat the Bees. Lure them into the field of Eyeplants by going around the Eyeplants, and return to destroy the hive. This works with a lot of Killer Bee Hives close together.

Building a Pig House near a Killer Bee Hive will provide a Meat or Pig Skin, Stingers, and Honey every four days. Building more than one house generally doesn't increase the rates, as Pigs will rapidly eat dropped Meat, Pig Skins and Honey with even the slightest break in combat. It is possible to build multiple houses around different hives, with a decent distance in between them.

Killer Bee Hives can be utilized to farm other Mobs that are dangerous to tackle otherwise, such as Pengulls. Wandering near a Killer Bee Hive to have the Killer Bees emerge allows the player to lure them elsewhere. Once they lose interest, they will travel in a straight line back to their hive. If they encounter any other Mob on the path, they will attack it. This method can also be used to neutralize Treeguards, as the aggressive Treeguards will not pursue the player if they are attacked by other Mobs.

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